Law Offices of Chris M. Ingram

Planning for 11/3/2020 Election

By Chris M. Ingram, LL.M., ESQ

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Over the last few weeks, it has become increasingly likely that we’ll have a new president quite soon. From watching numerous news reports, it appears that due to the way the Coronavirus has been handled, the bulk of the electorate has become very anxious for Biden to come in and develop a nationwide Coronavirus strategy, especially as we near a vaccine, which will need to be distributed in the most efficient way, as opposed to only going to the highest bidder. That having been said, in 2016 the pollsters got it wrong and Trump won, even to his own surprise. Moreover, for November 3rd, 2020, Trump is already sowing seeds of doubt as to the reliability of mail-in voting, erroneously suggesting that the votes would be rigged. It’s worth noting that 5 states, Colorado, Utah, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington, have had for many years 100% voting by mail, and no one in those states seem to feel this practice has led to wide-spread voting irregularities.

Staying the Course

Many clients have been hit hard as a result of the many Trump travel bans, visa pauses and green card issuance pauses. Some clients have become disillusioned and frustrated by it all. All I can say is this: stay the course at least until November 3rd, 2020 which is not that far away.

Green Cards are Only 6-8 Months Away

The EB-1 Self-Sponsored green card and the O-1A/ O-1B sponsored work visas have been unaffected by all of the Travel Bans and visa pauses for the most part. Currently, there are no restrictions on filing these applications and getting them approved. The delay has been getting the actual green cards issued or finding a Consulate that has re-opened in-person interviews so that passports can be stamped with the approved visas.

When it comes to the issuance of green card, notwithstanding the current pause to the end of 2020, even without the Presidential banana skins being thrown into the works by way of his Executive Orders, and the effects of the Coronavirus. getting green cards issued has always taken 6-8 months once the EB-1 petition itself has been approved.

We are encouraging all of our clients to take full advantage of these delays in order to improve their digital profile. In other words, once we get working on your case, let’s focus on not rushing through it, but instead, let’s make sure that we make your case as strong as possible. Indeed, we have been continuously evolving and streamlining our performance over the last 17 years to make sure that by working more closely with our clients, we are able to help them dig a little deeper to get better evidence so we can deliver stronger cases to USCIS. As a result, we are seeing more direct approvals come through.

Tips on Improving Your Digital Profile

We are currently working with hundreds of EB-1 Self-Sponsored green card applicants right now. preparing their cases for submission in the near future. As stated above, for the most part, many of our clients are in a hurry to have us prepare their cases as quickly as possible because they are fearful of losing their current jobs due to the Coronavirus. We have also been encouraging clients to be proactive in this space, but instead of focusing on speed of submission, we’re trying to encourage them to focus on the quality of submission.

Most clients will meet three of the EB-1 categories required to submit a good-faith application. Typically, but of course, not always, the categories will be Leading/Critical Role, High Salary and Judging. Whilst we can certainly win a three-category EB1 case, we find that the adjudicating officer will often request further evidence on at least once category, this is called a Request for Further Evidence (RFE), which will then require us to re-work one or more categories. This process feels like a game of cat and mouse which we invariably end up winning, but we are constantly looking for ways to avoid this game in the first place. We want our clients to make every effort to avoid these RFEs as much as possible because when you get an RFE they will incur additional legal fees to address it.

In contrast, by taking the extra time to build a four-category case, such as Leading/Critical Role, High Salary, Judging and either Scholarly Articles, or Memberships, or one of the remaining categories from the list of ten. When you have a four-category case, your case is inherently stronger, and less likely to receive an RFE since, even if the officer dislikes one of the four categories, he/she must still approve the case because you will have three qualifying categories approved. Indeed, the officer would need to RFE at least two of the four categories rather than approve it right away. Therefore, the stronger you make your case, the more likely your case will be approved first try.

At the same time, we see little value in developing a case with 5 or more categories because in reality the officer only has 24 mins to review the entire case and 6 mins to write up the adjudication (a total of 30 mins per adjudication). So, the more categories you try and submit, could result in more of your supporting evidence being just glanced over a missed altogether and you end up getting RFE’d anyway.

Please note, there are still some adjudicators that will RFE your case no matter what we send, but even if this is the case, we want to make it as hard as possible for the adjudicator to rule against you, and as easy as possible for the adjudicator to just say yes.

So, even though the Coronavirus and Trumps various pauses present real challenges, they also present great opportunities for us to work harder in crafting stronger cases. Our goal is to consistently win as many cases as possible for our clients. Our fees are structured on a fixed fee basis, which means that once our fees have been determined, and according to our retainer agreement fees are fixed. So, it’s in our best interest to process cases as efficiently as possible.

Finally, spare a thought for our staff, they are dealing with a multitude of Coronavirus challenges just like everyone else, so please be as patient as you can. I have added more line managers to supervise and support our teams of individual caseworkers so that you as a client always have a line manager to work talk to if you experience any challenges or bottlenecks with your case.

Free Consultations

We have a very rigorous intake process since we want to make sure that we only take on cases we are 100% convinced as can win. If we decide not to take on your case, we’ll certainly give you plenty of pointers you can work on to build up your case to meet the requirements. So, our Intake team will be asking you lots of questions about your career to date, your family makeup, even your children, so we can get a balanced picture as to what we can do for you. So, please, when you submit your inquiry, please give us as much initial information as possible, and if you are sent a link to complete one of our questionnaires, please complete the same as comprehensively as possible so that we can give your case all due consideration.

Conclusion

We are less than 90-days from the Presidential election and it’s set to be one of the most dramatic elections in a generation. In my last newsletter, I stated that a President cannot make any new laws, but he can certainly tinker with them. It is Congress who makes the laws and only if both Houses of Congress (the House of Representative and the Senate) agree and pass a Bill, only then can the President can sign this into law. So, we should not be too anxious about American politics impacting U.S. immigration law, except in the periphery.

There clearly electoral momentum behind Democratic nominee former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic party already controls the House. So, if they also gain control of the Senate, then they could be sweeping progress to be made on U.S. immigration law because President Biden (if elected) is very much a pro-immigration candidate, as is the Democratic party. It’s ironic that it was the Republicans, under Ronald Regan that passed the last U.S. Immigration amnesty bill into law and have until recently been very pro-immigration, that gave three million undocumented aliens legal status and created many of the various visa types we enjoy now.

Immigration lawyers nationwide as eagerly hoping for the best outcome with regards to this upcoming election. We are looking forward to seeing sweeping new and positive changes in favor of promoting merit-based U.S. immigration. So, hang in there, “Blue Sky is Coming”. We are looking forward to working with you and helping you secure your green card or visa status asap.

Immigration Law Offices of Chris M. Ingram

Immigration Law Offices of Chris M. Ingram

US Immigration Law Offices of Chris M. Ingram
Chris M. Ingram LL.M., ESQ – Immigration Attorney
Admitted in New York.
Practice Specializing in US Immigration Law
401 Wilshire Boulevard, 12th Floor,
[Cross Streets 4th and Wilshire]
Santa Monica,
California 90401
Tel: 310 496 4292

Everyday the Law Offices of Chris M. Ingram provides a comprehensive range of US Immigration expertise. We also provide free consultations for our prospective clients.

Please note that nothing contained in this website or link therefrom shall be regarded as providing legal advice. Please contact us directly for legal advice specific to your situation. Thank you.

Specializing in the E2 Visa, EB1 Green Card, L-1A Visa, and O1 Visa, and K1 Visa Marriage-Based Immigration. Attorney Chris M. Ingram is dedicated to providing the very best in US Immigration legal representation. Enjoy our website.

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